GUNAIKURNAI AND VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT JOINT MANAGEMENT PLAN - BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE - KRAUATUNGALUNG COUNTRY - GUNAIKURNAI AND VICTORIAN ...
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
GUNAIKURNAI
AND VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT
JOINT MANAGEMENT PLAN
BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE
— KRAUATUNGALUNG COUNTRY
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this document may contain images, names, quotes and other references to deceased people. Authorised and published by the Gunaikurnai Traditional Owner Land Management Board (GKTOLMB) 574 Main Street, Bairnsdale VIC 3785. Copyright © Gunaikurnai Traditional Owner Land Management Board and State of Victoria 2018. This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced or transmitted by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. For further information, visit the GKTOLMB website at www.gunaikurnai.com.au Copies of the complete Joint Management Plan, as well as individual park and reserve plans, may be downloaded from the GKTOLMB website or obtained from the Board’s office, 574 Main Street, Bairnsdale. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Gunaikurnai and Victorian Government Joint Management Plan. Buchan Caves Reserve – Krauatungalung Country. Gunaikurnai Traditional Owner Land Management Board. ISBN 978-0-6483380-2-4 (PDF version) Note: Page numbering in this plan is consistent with page numbering in the complete Gunaikurnai and Victorian Government Joint Management Plan. Disclaimer This plan does not limit the operation or exercising of Native Title or Traditional Owner rights held by the Gunaikurnai people. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this plan is accurate. The Board does not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or consequence that may arise from you relying on any information in the publication. The Board acknowledges that there are differing views about the meaning and spelling of some Gunaikurnai words, and recognise that these may change in the future. The same applies to the telling and meaning of Gunaikurnai mythological stories. Where Gunaikurnai language or stories are used in this plan, the spelling or story contained in the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation Gunaikurnai Whole-of-Country Plan (2015) has been adopted for the purpose of consistency. Quotations included in this plan are reproduced verbatim, including spelling, punctuation and capitalisation. These may differ from the style adopted in this plan. Parks Victoria Act 2018 References to Parks Victoria in this plan should be read in the following context: The Parks Victoria Act 2018 (Vic.) will commence later in 2018. Under this Act, Parks Victoria will change from being an authority providing park management services by agreement to being an authority with park and reserve management responsibilities in its own right. It will continue to be a Committee of Management of particular reserves under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 (Vic.). Acknowledgements This plan was prepared with assistance from Chris Halstead and Penny Spoelder of TRC Tourism, Simon Faivel and Jonathan Finighan of SVA Consulting, and Brian Doolan of Montane Planning, with input from GKTOLMB members and staff, and partner organisations: Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, Parks Victoria and Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. The Board thanks the following people for providing photographs and images for the overall Joint Management Plan: Alfie Hudson, Bradley Hood, Alice Hughes/Pepper, Robbie Farnham, Sean Phillipson, Jessica Shapiro, Rob Willersdorf, David Meagher.
Buchan Caves Reserve — Krauatungalung Country
Buchan Caves were traditionally an important meeting place for our people. The area connects
to the high country and was a place of refuge during the seasonal migrations to and from the
mountains, where our mob would go to chase the Bogong Moth and other food sources…
Although Gunaikurnai people did not traditionally venture very deep into the limestone caves,
there is evidence going back more than 18 000 years of the important role they played in the
lives of our old people, including burials in the caves and ceremonial rings all through the
Buchan area.
— Gunaikurnai Whole-‐of-‐Country Plan (GLaWAC 2015)
BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE — KRAUATUNGALUNG COUNTRY 66 
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 66
1.1 Basis of the management plan ..................................................................................................... 66
1.2 How to read this plan ................................................................................................................... 67
1.3 The reserve .................................................................................................................................. 67
2 The Buchan Caves Reserve under joint management ........................................................................ 68
3 ZONING ............................................................................................................................................... 69
4 CARING FOR COUNTRY ....................................................................................................................... 70
4.1 Gunaikurnai cultural heritage ...................................................................................................... 70
4.2 Land and water values ................................................................................................................. 70
4.3 Historic heritage ........................................................................................................................... 72
4.4 Threats to Country and heritage .................................................................................................. 73
4.5 Conservation strategies to deal with threats ............................................................................... 74
5 PEOPLE IN THE RESERVE ..................................................................................................................... 76
5.1 Traditional Owners connecting with Country .............................................................................. 76
5.2 Visitors to the reserve .................................................................................................................. 76
5.3 Visitor strategies .......................................................................................................................... 78
6 WORKING TOGETHER ......................................................................................................................... 80
6.1 The joint management delivery partners — GLaWAC, Parks Victoria, DELWP, GKTOLMB ......... 80
6.2 Community and other partners ................................................................................................... 80
6.3 Authorised uses ........................................................................................................................... 81
6.4 Reserve boundaries ..................................................................................................................... 81
7 GOALS AND ACTIONS .......................................................................................................................... 82
8 PLAN MONITORING AND REVIEW ....................................................................................................... 85
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................... 87
BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE — KRAUATUNGALUNG COUNTRY 65 
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BASIS OF THE MANAGEMENT PLAN
In a 2010 Native Title Determination, the Federal Court recognised that the Gunaikurnai hold
native title rights over much of Gippsland. At the same time, the Victorian Government took
additional steps to recognise Gunaikurnai peoples’ traditional rights and ownership and entered
into a Recognition and Settlement Agreement (RSA) under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act
2010 (Vic.) with Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation. The Recognition Statement
from the RSA is reproduced in full in the Introduction to the Joint Management Plan (JMP).
The Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) is the ‘traditional owner group
entity’ for the purposes of the RSA. GLaWAC is also the Prescribed Body Corporate for the purposes
of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth) and the Registered Aboriginal Party for the area for the
purposes of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic.).
As part of the RSA, Buchan Caves Reserve has been granted to the Gunaikurnai as Aboriginal Title
by the Victorian Government and will be managed jointly by Gunaikurnai and the Victorian
Government. The Aboriginal Title grant is subject to the Gunaikurnai giving the State the right to
occupy, use, control and manage the land for the same purpose as applied immediately before the
grant. In the case of Buchan Caves Reserve, the land continues to be managed as a reserve for
public purposes and the protection of natural features, under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978
(Vic.).
This Management Plan for Buchan Caves Reserve has been prepared under Section 82 of the
Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 (Vic.) and the provisions of the Gunaikurnai Traditional
Owner Land Management Agreement 2010. It is consistent with the objects and requirements of
the Crown Land (Reserves) Act and the regulations made under that Act. (Additional legislation and
policies which have been considered in the preparation of the Management Plan are listed in Appendix
4 of the Strategic Plan.) It also recognises and is consistent with the Buchan Caves Reserve’s listing
on the Victorian Heritage Register under the provisions of the Heritage Act 2017 (Vic.) for its
aesthetic, scientific and historical significance to the State of Victoria.
Because Buchan Caves Reserve is within the area covered by the 2010 Determination and the RSA,
the rights of the Gunaikurnai to undertake traditional activities apply to the reserve. Existing rights
and interests in the reserve that are held by others are not affected by the RSA, but remain subject
to management policies and regulation.
The Gunaikurnai Traditional Owner Land Management Board (GKTOLMB) was established in
accordance with the Recognition and Settlement Agreement between GLaWAC and the State of
Victoria, with the statutory objective of enabling the knowledge and culture of the Gunaikurnai to
be recognised in the management of 10 Aboriginal Title areas, including Buchan Caves Reserve. The
Board was responsible for preparing this management plan jointly with GLaWAC, Parks Victoria and
the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).
There have been few opportunities in the past for Gunaikurnai to participate in the decision-‐
making and management of public land. Through this plan, GLaWAC and the Victorian Government
seek to:
• ensure that Buchan Caves Reserve is well managed, its values and assets are protected and
conserved, and the statutory requirements for reserve management are fulfilled, through an
equitable partnership between the Victorian Government and GLaWAC
• increase opportunities for Gunaikurnai people to connect with Country, foster employment and
economic development opportunities and build their capacity and skills to take a central role in
joint management with the other management partners
• benefit the Gunaikurnai and the State by recognising, valuing, promoting and incorporating
Gunaikurnai culture, knowledge, skills and decision-‐making into the reserve.
66 GUNAIKURNAI AND VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT JOINT MANAGEMENT PLAN 1.2 HOW TO READ THIS PLAN
This plan provides a description of joint management strategies and actions that are specific to
Buchan Caves Reserve. The following sections:
• describe values, uses and threats relating to the land, water and heritage of the reserve, and
goals and strategies to protect and conserve those values
• describe Traditional Owner, visitor and community connections to the reserve and their uses
and activities, and the goals and strategies for managing and enhancing those connections and
uses
• identify government and community relationships and partnerships that are key to managing
the reserve
• state the actions that will be undertaken over the next 10 years to achieve the goals and
implement the strategies described in the plan.
In addition to the specific actions for Buchan Caves Reserve in this plan, the strategic initiatives for
joint management described in the Strategic Plan chapter of the JMP may include actions that
relate to Buchan Caves Reserve.
The Parks Victoria Act 2018 (Vic.) will commence later in 2018. Under this Act, Parks Victoria will
change from being an authority providing park management services by agreement to being an
authority with park and reserve management responsibilities in its own right. It will continue to be
a Committee of Management of particular reserves under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978
(Vic.).
1.3 THE RESERVE
Buchan Caves Reserve covers 295 hectares on the Buchan River at the township of Buchan
(population approximately 150), 57 kilometres north of Lakes Entrance. Most of the reserve is
covered by forest and woodland. Prior to the grant of Aboriginal Title the reserve was set aside for
public purposes and the protection of natural features.
Some of the best cave formations in Victoria are found in the Buchan Caves (See Section 4.2). The
caves are part of the Buchan–Murrindal cave system, a large outcrop of cave and karst-‐forming
limestones extending beyond the reserve boundary. This is one of the most extensive cave systems
in Victoria, containing between four and five kilometres of stream passage cut at several levels and
in some places widened into caverns by block collapse.
There is evidence of Gunaikurnai burials dating from the Pleistocene era in some cave entries in the
area around Buchan, outside the reserve.
The reserve is also significant for its modern history and the development of cave tourism. It is one
of East Gippsland’s major tourism attractions, attracting a large number of visitors from interstate
and overseas.
BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE — KRAUATUNGALUNG COUNTRY 67 2 THE BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE UNDER
JOINT MANAGEMENT
The Buchan Caves Reserve is on the Country of the Krauatungalung clan. The Gunaikurnai Whole-‐
of-‐Country Plan (GLaWAC 2015) sets out the following management priorities for the reserve:
• establishing cultural business and training enterprises around tourism and education
• ensuring that all non-‐Gunaikurnai people working in the Buchan Caves area undertake cultural
awareness training
• taking a more active role in the administration of visitation and receiving commensurate income
from camping and other fees.
While recognising these priorities, this plan sets out actions that are consistent with and limited to
the terms of the 2010 Recognition and Settlement Agreement.
Parks Victoria operates well-‐developed tour and accommodation booking systems and cave guiding
services, and also sells food and merchandise.
The main changes that will take place as part of joint management of the reserve will be:
• the establishment of Buchan Caves as a primary training and development location for
Gunaikurnai people to acquire and build skills in tourism, hospitality, and commercial business
operations
• the development of new programs and activities for visitors that are built on Gunaikurnai
cultural heritage themes, as part of ongoing improvements to the visitor services and
experiences in the reserve.
The partner agencies will explore how the revenue from these operations can be applied within the
overall resourcing of joint management.
68 GUNAIKURNAI AND VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT JOINT MANAGEMENT PLAN 3 ZONING
A simple zoning scheme has been developed to provide a geographic framework to manage the
reserve. The zones will:
• communicate which management aims have priority in different parts of the reserve
• indicate the types and levels of use allowed
• assist in minimising conflicts between uses or between those and the protection of reserve values
• provide a basis for assessing the suitability of future activities and use proposals.
The location of the zones is shown on Map 1, and their purposes are described in Table 1. The
developed areas of the reserve along Caves Road and the Northern Arm Track are zoned as
Recreation Development. This includes the Parks Victoria office, visitor centre, cabins, camping
area and Wilderness Camp tents. The areas outside this zone, in the headwaters of Spring Creek,
are zoned as Conservation and Recreation.
Table 1: Management zones and overlays, Buchan Caves Reserve.
Zone Description and purpose
Conservation and Areas where the management emphasis is on protection of land, water, ecological
Recreation Zone and cultural values while encouraging dispersed recreation and nature-‐based
tourism.
Low-‐impact recreation activities are allowed; dispersed, small-‐scale facilities are
provided, without significant impact on natural processes and landscape
character.
Recreation Small areas with a high level of visitor facility development, catering for a high
Development Zone number of visitors.
Cultural Values Areas where the extent, nature or significance of Aboriginal cultural heritage
Overlay (future) and/or historic heritage is high. Specific protections and restrictions on use and
activities may be applied.
Cultural heritage and cultural values in the reserve need to be systematically surveyed and
mapped. The zoning scheme therefore includes provision for a future Cultural Values Overlay to be
applied if cultural values locations requiring conservation are not within the Conservation and
Recreation Zone.
This overlay would be activated by means of a future amendment to the Management Plan.
Implementation of this overlay may require amendment of the description or provisions of other
zones and overlays, and integration with Aboriginal Heritage Act and Heritage Act provisions to
ensure compatibility.
Under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Vic.), natural resource agreements can authorise
activities such as hunting wildlife and game, fishing, and gathering flora and forest produce.
No agreement over Buchan Caves Reserve is in place. A future agreement may require variation to
the zoning scheme and provisions of this management plan.
BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE — KRAUATUNGALUNG COUNTRY 69 4 CARING FOR COUNTRY 4.1 GUNAIKURNAI CULTURAL HERITAGE Buchan Munji, the Buchan Caves area, was used by the Gunaikurnai as a place to camp and meet during seasonal migrations to and from the high country. Although the Gunaikurnai people did not venture far beyond the cave entrances (caves were places thought to be inhabited by wicked creatures such as the Nargun and the Nyols) the caves are of high spiritual significance, which has been maintained through traditional stories. Archaeological evidence of Gunaikurnai use of the area remains in and around cave entrances, along the Spring Creek valley and in artefact scatters throughout the reserve. Four quarry sites and three artefact scatter sites have been recorded. Evidence in the broader Buchan region indicates the important role of caves to Gunaikurnai going back thousands of years, including burials inside caves and ceremonial rings. Gunaikurnai oral history holds that Frank Moon’s party, which made the first documented exploration of the caves (see Section 4.3), was guided by local Gunaikurnai people, who were not acknowledged.1 Today the caves remain important to Gunaikurnai as a meeting place with spiritual significance that holds important stories to be shared with young people. There are other culturally important cave sites in the vicinity that are not within the reserve. Cloggs Cave, located on private land about four kilometres south-‐east of Buchan Caves Reserve, was used as a shelter, and contains highly important Gunaikurnai archaeological deposits. The roof of the rock shelter outside this cave is heavily blackened, evidently from campfires. Some of the artwork is extremely rare, particularly the drawings done in animal fat (GLaWAC 2015). The cave has an undisturbed cultural sequence recently dated to around 30 000 years, with bone and stone tools being uncovered in excavations. It is closed to the public. 4.2 LAND AND WATER VALUES The Fairy–Royal–Federal–Dukes cave system within the reserve is approximately one kilometre long and contains spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations, pillars, shawls, rim pools, cave sediments and a permanent flowing stream (Rosengren and McRae-‐Williams 1981). It is part of a large outcrop of cave and karst-‐forming limestones known as the Buchan–Murrindal cave system, which extends beyond the reserve. This is one of the most extensive cave systems in Victoria, containing between four and five kilometres of stream passage, cut at several levels and widened in places into caverns by block collapse. The limestone rock at Buchan was laid down about 380 million years ago under shallow seas that covered much of East Gippsland. Vertical joint lines across the layers of limestone allowed water to seep through the rock, dissolving the limestone to form the caves. Water dripping from the ceiling of the caves and then evaporating, deposited calcite, forming stalactites and stalagmites. There are numerous fossils in the limestone. Bats inhabit some caves in the reserve. They are known to use caves in the area for overwintering and roosting, but recent survey and monitoring data is limited. Cave invertebrates were surveyed in the 1980s (Yen and Milledge 1990), but there is no current data on their presence and condition. 1 Gunaikurnai Elder Auntie Rita Watkins (deceased) 70 GUNAIKURNAI AND VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT JOINT MANAGEMENT PLAN
The reserve includes four Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs), the standard categorisation of
native vegetation used in Victoria. Around 40% of the reserve is covered by Shrubby Dry Forest,
which is relatively common in the East Gippsland uplands bioregion.
Grassy Woodland and Valley Grassy Forest, both of which are depleted in the East Gippsland
bioregion, cover approximately half of the Reserve area, and there is a small pocket of endangered
Warm Temperate Rainforest on Spring Creek.
The reserve contains a variety of native and introduced vegetation, including several species listed
as threatened under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic.) and the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) such as Limestone Blue Wattle and Leafy
Greenhood Orchid.
Buchan Caves Reserve supports significant wildlife, and over 100 species of birds have been
recorded there. King Parrots, White-‐winged Choughs and currawongs are commonly seen in the
reserve, along with Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Brush-‐tailed Possums. Platypuses inhabit the
reserve’s waterways, particularly at Moon Cave, which is an important breeding location and has
management guidelines in place to control disturbance. They are also present in Dukes Cave.
There are records of several species rare or threatened fauna species in the reserve. They include
two endangered species (Spot-‐tailed Quoll and Growling Grass Frog) and three vulnerable species
(Australian Grayling, Powerful Owl and Speckled Warbler) and the near-‐threatened Hooded Robin.
However, it is not certain whether these species are still present in the reserve.
DELWP’s NatureKit biodiversity data products provide important information for conserving flora
and fauna in the reserve.
Table 2: Significant species in Buchan Caves Reserve.
Scientific name Common name Conservation FFG Action
status Statement
Prototroctes maraena Australian Grayling vulnerable 57
Ninox strenua Powerful Owl vulnerable 92
Melanodryas cucullata cucullata Hooded Robin near threatened —
Chthonicola sagittatus Speckled Warbler vulnerable —
Dasyurus maculatus maculatus Spot-‐tailed Quoll endangered 15
Litoria raniformis Growling Grass Frog endangered —
Acacia caerulescens Limestone Blue Wattle vulnerable 222
Landscape and catchment context
The reserve lies within the Far East Catchments landscape program of the East Gippsland
Catchment Management Authority (EGCMA). The program aims to maintain the condition of
significant and relatively undisturbed landscape of these catchments with their large and
continuous extent of natural ecosystems, from the mountains to the coast.
The Regional Catchment Strategy (EGCMA 2013) identifies the broad landscape objectives for
public land as:
• maintenance and targeted improvement of the condition, security, diversity and integrity of
natural ecosystems and the status of threatened species and communities
• maintenance of soil condition and stability on public land.
BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE — KRAUATUNGALUNG COUNTRY 71 4.3 HISTORIC HERITAGE
Buchan Caves Reserve is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register under the provisions of the
Heritage Act 2017 (Vic.) for the aesthetic, scientific and historical significance, notably the
spectacular caves and geological formations that comprise the underground features of the
reserve.
The caves were known to the Gunaikurnai for at least 30 000 years. The earliest known post-‐
settlement reference to the caves was in 1840, and the earliest known tourist reference is in a
Gippsland Lakes guide from 1886, but the caves were probably a visitor curiosity before then.
The first government reservation was a camping reserve of 19 acres in 1887 along the line of the
Buchan–Gelantipy Road, while the caves continued to be used unofficially for picnics and functions.
In 1889 a government party reported on and photographed Duke's Cave, Wilson Cave, Spring Creek
Cave, Dickson's Cave, O’Rourke Cave, and Moon Cave. The first regulations for the protection of
the caves were promulgated and between 1903 and 1910, when the Shire of Tambo was appointed
as Committee of Management.
In 1906 Frank Moon explored Moon's Cave, and Moon was subsequently appointed to officially
search for new caves. This led to exploration of Kitson’s Cave in 1906 and Fairy Cave in 1907.
By the time of the First World War the area was being promoted by the Victorian Railways and
other organisations, and the caves had become a very popular tourist attraction. Infrastructure
works in the caves before this time included some lighting and barriers. After the war an electric
lighting plant was installed, and a tunnel was dug to link Fairy Cave with Royal Cave.
The Statement of Significance in the Victorian Heritage Register notes a range of elements that
contribute to the importance of the reserve:
• The Buchan Caves Reserve, part of the outstanding Buchan–Murrindal cave system, set aside in
1901 for public purposes and the protection of natural features and landscaped in the 1930s, is
of State cultural significance:
– as an example of an early tourist attraction in Victoria based on natural themes; the ongoing
use of the caves for tourist purposes is an important aspect of this significance, as is the
tradition of guiding and transmission of oral history; early attributes of the reserve include
the caves and their entries, caretaker's residence and the landscaping of the 1930s
– aesthetically and scientifically, for the spectacular caves and geological formations which
comprise the underground features of the reserve; these natural features have been
exploited by human intervention, especially the use of light and the use of barriers to
protect formations; this last attribute is part of the careful work of Frederick Wilson from
1907 onwards and is now rare on a national and even international basis
– as a mature example of the landscape work of Hugh Linaker, a pioneering designer of public
landscapes; the 1930s landscaping at Buchan has been carefully tended and sympathetically
augmented in subsequent years and is exemplified by the mature trees in the reserve, the
high proportion of deciduous exotic species, the road layout and small rustic rotunda
– for the manner in which the reserve demonstrates the influence of contemporary 1930s
National Parks landscape ideals; here represented by the incorporation of recreational
facilities such as the swimming pool and tennis courts and the use of a self-‐consciously
rugged design idiom (such as the bold log structures at the entry gateway, the rugged stone
construction of the kitchen and the log construction of the kiosk)
– for its high aesthetic values, including the exploitation of seasonal contrast by the use of
deciduous trees, the contrast between exotic trees with the surrounding landscape, the
manner in which the roadway winds up the Spring Creek valley, and for views within and out
of the reserve
– for the manner in which in the Caves Reserve and Buchan township demonstrate the
development of tourism within Gippsland, and the demands of that tourism on the natural
environment.
72 GUNAIKURNAI AND VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT JOINT MANAGEMENT PLAN 4.4 THREATS TO COUNTRY AND HERITAGE
Visitor impacts
Visitor impacts on the cave system can include changes to the physical structure of the cave, water
movement, cave hydrology, air movement and microclimate, as well as the effects of artificial light,
compaction of floors, changes to cave biota and surface impacts such as erosion and vegetation
change. These effects can be independent of one another, cumulative, or synergistic. They can also
be related to the number of visitors to the cave at any one time, and the frequency of visits.
A number of tools are available to ensure tourist visits and other uses of the caves are sustainable.
These include the Buchan Caves Guiding Resource Manual, resources on the Australasian Cave and
Karst Management Association’s website (http://www.ackma.org), and Principles for Guided Cave
Interpretation (Davidson and Black 2007).
Victorian and international management guidelines provide general guidance on management and
conservation of karst and caves (Davey and White 1986; IUCN 1997). More detailed management
guidance for the substantial cave complex at Buchan Caves is needed in the form of a Cave and
Karst Plan, incorporating input by speleological bodies and Parks Victoria’s Cave and Karst Advisory
Group. This plan should include:
• an inventory of all known caves and other karst features
• information on all natural and cultural values associated with a feature or group of features,
including significance levels, condition, threats and visitor use of caves in the reserve
• management regimes for each karst area and cave based upon the establishment of acceptable
limits of disturbance
• tailored monitoring regimes to measure disturbance within karst catchments and at individual
karst features including caves
• general and feature-‐specific management responses to disturbance
• environmental management practices that will ensure the ongoing protection of the reserve
and its significant karst formations
• records of management works and operations carried out in each karst area and at individual
karst features
• cave search and rescue protocols
• a register of karst and karst management specialists
• records of all past and ongoing karst research undertaken in the reserve
• research priorities for individual karst areas and features.
Invasive plants and animals
Weeds have the potential to affect the significant vegetation communities and some of the
reserve’s important habitats. The challenge is to maintain the relatively intact nature of the
vegetation within the reserve and protect it from new introductions.
Browsing and soil disturbance from introduced herbivores such as deer and rabbits has a significant
impact on the reserve’s plants and animals.
Climate change
Climate change is a potential intensifier of existing and new threats. These include changes to
hydrology, increased frequency and severity of extreme events, changes in vegetation arising from
rainfall and evaporation changes.
Changes to the hydrology would threaten the karst and those caves and cave biota that have a
continuing relationship with water levels or water quality. Changes to the karst system may also
have hydrological affects.
Changes such as vegetation alteration are likely to occur gradually, while more extreme events
such as storms and floods could occur at any time. Storms increase the risk of inundation and
damage to physical assets and public safety. The Reserve has a relatively small catchment, but the
BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE — KRAUATUNGALUNG COUNTRY 73 You can also read
